Green Mission Report

2012

Whole Foods Markets

Contents
Whole Foods Markets Green Mission Highlights from 2010/2011 Organic and Natural Foods Were a Certified Organic Retailer Our Quality Standards Our Whole Trade Guarantee Our Products Produce Floral Meat 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating System Seafood Specialty Foods: Allegro Coffee Grocery Cleaning Products Standards & Eco-Scale Wine Whole Body Our Green Mission Waste Reduction Responsible Packaging and Supplies Renewable and Alternative Energy Energy Conservation Carbon Tracking and Reduction Green Building and Design LEED, Green Globes and GreenChill Community Partnering Local Producer Loan Program Whole Planet Foundation Whole Kids Foundation Looking AheadTogether 2 5 7 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 19 20 24 26 27 28 30 33 33 38 41 42 44 45 48 51 52 53 56 58

Whole Foods Markets Green Mission

For the last 31 years, Whole Foods Market has offered the highest quality natural and organic foods available while focusing on enhancing the experiences of our customers, Team Members, investors, local and global communities as well as the environment.
Our commitment to the environment is embraced as one of our Core Values, yet this dedication to a thriving, healthy planet is not confined to a few key topical areas.

The Whole Foods Market Conscious Business Model: Stakeholder Interdependence

Motivated Team Members Innovation & Service

Increased Job Satisfaction

Team Member Happiness

Partnerships with Vendors & Suppliers

Quality Products

Congruent Values

Good Value

Community & Environmental Responsiveness

CORE VALUES & MISSIONS

Satisfied & Delighted Customers

Giving Back Motivated Investors

Sales Growth

Corporate Citizenship

Profits & Growth

We have long employed a stakeholder approach to managing our business, one that places the business within a system of exchanges, with myriad interdependencies. Just as we employ a systems approach to business, we view the world as a beautiful and complex system and as citizens of the world, hope to leave it a better place than the one we inherited. This is our first Green Mission report. We think we tell many stories well, for example, how we help create and sustain a healthier food system by featuring a wide array of organic and natural products vetted by our rigorous Quality Standards; how we partner with our vendors and producers to ensure both mutual success and an abundance of customer choices; how we help customers and Team Members adopt a healthier approach to eating and lifestyles with our Health Starts Here education initiatives and prepared foods; and how we partner with our communities on a local, national and global level. Yet we havent told all of these stories through the focused lens of our green mission and our role as a corporate citizen in a complex world. Whole Foods Market operates with a decentralized business structure. Why mention this in a report on sustainability initiatives? Partly to help explain differ-

ences between us and other Fortune 500 companies. One of the guiding principles of Whole Foods Market is empowerment. We leave a lot of decisions up to our Team Members, our stores and our regions. Our internal store departments, or teams, stores and regions innovate and compete within and amongst themselves while maintaining a great deal of autonomy, and we find that this helps create a company culture with an almost built-in innovation and idea replenishment system. This creativity allows the entire business to address the continually changing competitive environment. We strive to maintain our decentralized structure even as weve grown, even when weve realized that centralizing many of our common functions might streamline core business processes and increase efficiencies. In summary, we balance the innovation and dexterity required in todays marketplace against possible cost-savings and an increasingly hierarchical and rules-bound business structure. Our decentralized company structure, in part, explains our initial approach to reporting on our sustainability initiatives. We approach these efforts differently, too. Instead of a Director of Sustainabil-

ity or an Environmental Committee within the Board of Directors, environmental stewardship is built into individual jobs, teams, stores, and operating regions. Every Team Member has environmental responsibilities such as recycling and responsible energy use; most stores have a Green Mission team, and several of our regions devote part-time or full-time positions for Green Mission Specialists to educate Team Members and promote the companys Green Mission goals. Self-managed Green Mission task forces work on sustainability initiatives including packaging, energy reduction and waste diversion campaigns. A team of key leaders in several functional areas across the company coordinate and advocate the companys main Green Mission goals. These individuals include the Global Vice Presidents of Store Development and Construction, Purchasing, Transportation and Logistics, as well as the Global Leader of Sustainable Engineering, Maintenance & Energy Management. Two of our Regional Presidents and several regional Green Mission Specialists round out the Green Mission Leadership Team. This non-standard approach has been effective in driving progress throughout the company in a voluntary or opt-in manner. And, to be perfectly transparent, because of this approach we also end up with gaps that we intend to address going forward.

This initial report will contain more qualitative than quantitative sustainability measures. Because of our decentralized business structure, data capture and regular reporting on some sustainability measures has yet to roll out in each of our 12 regions. Also, weve grown mainly by buying other companies and developing new stores that are unique to their setting and neighborhood, and not cookie cutter big boxes. This has made some of our meter synchronization and reporting more challenging. We are making great progress in capturing benchmark metrics, and look forward to reporting accurate electricity and refrigerants usage in 2013. As with any debut effort, we are aware that opportunities for improvement on our reporting will present themselves over time, both with the report itself, and the business processes and thinking behind it. In this report weve done our best to highlight green mission programs or information that each of our stakeholders will find meaningful. With your constructive feedback, we can better tailor the information you wish to see from us in the future. As a learning organization, we very much look forward to continuing a dialogue with our stakeholders about the information that follows and our retail efforts in general. Contact us: greenmissionreport@wholefoods.com 4

Highlights from 2010/2011 In an innovative company long known for high quality products, excellent customer service and attention to our various stakeholder groups, Whole Foods Market has had a remarkable few years with our sustainable product programs and our community-focused and Green Mission efforts. Below we call out a few of these developments.
In 2010, we partnered with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquariums Seafood Watch to provide seafood sustainability labeling for all wild-caught seafood not certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to help our customers make more informed choices when they are purchasing fish and shellfish. In 2011, we rolled out Global Animal Partnerships (GAP) 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating program in each of our stores. Were the first retail grocer to debut this program, which provides customers with much greater transparency about the conditions under which food animals are raised and brought to market.

As of June 2011, all health and beauty products sold in our stores that make organic claims must be certified by one of two sources: either the Agriculture Departments National Organic Program (NOP), which sets standards for food; or NSF International. Launched in 2011, our Eco-Scale rating system for cleaning products provides customers with additional information to make informed choices.

 In 2010, when Haiti was grappling with the after effects of the January earthquake, we increased our purchase of Whole Trade Haitian mangos by 40 percent; we expanded our efforts again in 2011. Our sales of Whole Trade products continue to grow and in 2011 resulted in more than $740,000 in donations (up to 1% of sales) to Whole Planet FoundationTM. In 2011, for the fifth year, Whole Foods Market purchased enough wind energy RECs (renewable energy credits) to offset the entire companys energy usage. Weve also purchased wind energy RECs for 2012. In 2010, we announced the companys goal to reduce our energy usage by 25 percent per square foot by 2015, and we are making significant strides in reaching this goal. We reduced our electricity consumption by 6% per sq foot in 2011 from our baseline year of 2008, on our way to the 25% per foot reduction goal by 2015. We opened or retrofitted several stores or facilities in 2010 and 2011 that feature alternative energy system components like solar

panels, thermal massing and fuel cells. Many of these stores achieved LEED or Green Globes ratings. In addition, many have achieved GreenChill ratings. We launched our Whole Kids Foundation in July 2011 and have received more than $2,000,000 in customer donations for our School Garden grants program; Whole Foods Market donated $500,000 to the program in 2011. As of December 2011, Whole Planet Foundation has extended its reach into 50 countries; weve partnered with established microcredit lending organizations in each nation to help lift people out of poverty. Were excited to share some of the programs Whole Foods Market has developed to support our communities and the environment. We plan to report our progress annually and look forward to tracking our progress for many years to come.

Organic and Natural Foods

Whole Foods Market provides a retail sales outlet for thousands of organic and locally- produced items and was the first food retailer in the United States to address animal welfare and seafood sustainability issues in the supply chain.
Weve done this in partnership with a variety of multi-stakeholder groups that include customers, vendors and non-profit and government agencies, depending on the issue of concern. Were very proud of the part we have played in leading positive change in the composition of food retailing and global citizenship for thirty yearsand counting. Supporting organic agriculture is among the most environmentally-friendly activities we undertake as a company. At its best, organic farming is a hopeful and mindful enterprise, practiced with compassion and empathy for the land and the creatures upon it.

In simple terms, organic agriculture: Builds healthy soil rich with microorganisms and nutrients so it holds moisture, resists erosion and absorbs CO2 to mitigate global warming. Promotes biodiversity, reducing the danger of large-scale crop failure and plant disease. Relies on natural methods of pest or disease prevention. Preserves the integrity of meat and dairy products by prohibiting the use of antibiotics and artificial growth hormones. Honors the role that domesticated food animals play in the cycle of life. Protects the safety of food and the integrity of soil and crops by prohibiting the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Safeguards water quality by eliminating harmful runoff from artificial fertilizers and other toxic chemicals. Saves energy through reduced reliance on fossil fuels, such as those used in the manufacture, distribution, and application of pesticides.

Organics is at the root of everything we do. We carry natural and organic products because we believe that food in its purest stateunadulterated by artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings, and preservativesis the best tasting and most nutritious food available. We were among the early pioneers who took the successful supermarket concept and populated our shelves with foods and product we felt to be a better choice for shoppers than those found in the conventional food stores of the 1980s. We faced two big challenges in the early days: insufficient supply and lack of national standards for organics. We played a big part in solving both of those challenges over the last few decades. In the early 1980s, most of the certified organic produce came from the west coast since California and Oregon had state organic standards. The organic network was young and fairly disorganized, making it very difficult to stock much organic produce. In response, we set up our own produce distribution company in California. We developed relationships with organic farmers in California and educated each other about the variety of organic produce we could feasibly make available. As time went on, we developed packaging, storage and shipping procedures that ensured the quality of our organic

products at every stop from the farms to our stores. These foundational steps with our vendor partners benefitted the entire industry over time, bringing more organic products to market in good condition.

In 2009, Whole Foods Market Team Member Joe Dickson was tapped to serve on the NOSB. Joe also sits on the Texas Department of Agriculture Organic Industry Advisory Board. Whole Foods Market is also a supporter of the Non-GMO Project, where Joe sits on the Board of Directors. This nonprofit has established industry standards for the verification, testing and labeling of non-GMO (genetically modified organism) products and to ensure the ongoing availability of non-GMO food in the US.

We are an active voice in the organic industry.

We have advocated for strong organic aquaculture standards, as the USDA works to develop these new standards. We have also worked with Canadian regulators and Organic Trade Association Canada to help shape and understand Canadas new National Organic Standards. As the world population grows, we are going to need creative solutions for our supply chains. We are starting to work with emerging organic suppliers all over the world. The steps we are taking now will assure the long-term quality of our supply as we look beyond the United States for organic food solutions.

As recently as the 1980s, when our company consisted of a handful of stores in Texas, the Lone Star State didnt have organic standards. Although a handful of agricultural heavyweight states like California and Oregon had state standards as early as the 1970s, the US didnt have national organic standards until 2002. We were the first food retailer at the table when it came time to help develop national standards. Margaret Wittenberg, our Global Vice President of Quality Standards, served two successive terms on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) starting in 1992, helping to shape the original organic standards.

Were a Certified Organic Retailer Whole Foods Market has been certified organic since 2003. Under the national organic standards, the whole supply chain for organic products must be certified, with the curious (to us) exceptions of retailers and restaurants.
Although not required, we voluntarily participated in the process, which initially involved certification of a representative sample of our stores along with our overall company policies and systems for monitoring compliance. In 2009, the requirements became much more stringent. Rather than walk away from certification altogether, we opted to go down the more difficult road of getting each of our stores individually certified. We signed up all of our stores for inspection because we believe the integrity it brings the organic label is so important. As our partner in the certifying process, we work with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). They have been certifying organic farms and producers since 1973 and act as both a certifying agent and a non-profit advocacy group for organics, and they truly share our view that the organic label should be meaningful and used with integrity. How does a store get certified? Mainly by evaluating practices that involve unpackaged organic products, such as those in our produce, bulk, meat, bakeries, cheese departments and even on some salad bars. Few other retailers go to the effort to become certified. Our stores are certified organic to help give our customers more trust in the organic label. For us, its important for customers to know that everyone who handles their organic food has been certified instead of everyone but the retailer.

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Our Quality Standards Whole Foods Market first developed standards for the products sold in our stores in the 1980s.
Many food additives and preservatives found in conventionally-produced food items are among those we choose not to allow. We share these standards with prospective vendors and our customers as one facet of our efforts toward creating more transparency in our product offerings. These standards are one of the reasons we enjoy a strong trust-based relationship with customers; likewise, we have a lot to lose if we slip up on our vigilance. Our Quality Standards for food items have been in place for more than two decadesand they have not been static. When new research comes to light, we modify our list of acceptable ingredients. In 2010, we introduced our Quality Standards for personal care items, and rolled out our standards for home cleaning products in the spring of 2011. Working in tandem with our vendors and suppliers in creating food and product formulations that are healthier for humans and for the environment is another way were continuing to change the face of retailing.

Whole Foods Markets Quality Standards for Food

We sell the highest quality foods we can find at the most competitive prices possible. We evaluate quality in terms of nutrition, freshness, appearance, and taste. Our search for quality is a never-ending process involving careful judgment of buyers throughout the company. We carefully evaluate each and every product we sell. We feature foods that are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats. We are passionate about great tasting food and the pleasure of sharing it with others. We are committed to foods that are fresh, wholesome and safe to eat. We seek out and promote organically grown foods. We provide food and nutritional products that support health and well-being.

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Our Whole Trade Guarantee At Whole Foods Market we believe that we have a responsibility toward all entities involved in our business: our customers, shareholders, Team Members, suppliers, the environment and, not least of all, our community.
To us, community transcends the boundaries of our North American (and European) cities to the places from which we source our products, many of which are in developing countries. As a result, we have created the Whole Trade Guarantee, an extension of our values that lets you rest assured that you are buying the best for you, for your community, and your world.

Whole Trade Guarantee products are required to: Meet our strict product Quality Standards. Provide more money to producers. Ensure better wages and working conditions for workers. Care for the environment. Donate up to 1% of sales to Whole Planet Foundation. Our Whole Trade Guarantee exemplifies our commitment to ethical trade, the environment and quality products. Were able to offer this program by utilizing thirdparty certifiers such as Fair Trade USA, Rainforest Alliance and the Institute for Marketecology. Youll have an opportunity to find out more about some of our Whole Trade products and producers in the following pages.

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Our Products
By operating successful and trusted retail stores featuring thousands of natural and organic products over the last three decades, weve been a big player in the growth of the entire natural and organic foods industry.
Along with offering organic produce, grocery and body care items, we are advocates and supporters of naturally raised and organic meat, dairy and poultry. And, in addition to telling consumers our concerns about added hormones and antibiotics, we work with ranchers and producers to develop alternatives for our customers to buy. We now carry a variety of free-range and grass-fed products in each of our stores, and we address our efforts toward supporting animal welfare standards for key food animal species later in this report. We advocate for fewer and safer pesticides in non-organic foods, and we work to provide information to our customers about the value of foods produced without harmful or questionable food additives so that they can make the best choices for their families. We continually work with manufacturers to supply our stores with foods that meet our strict quality standards and environmentallyfriendly packaging requirements. While we educate customers about the benefits of natural and organic foods, we also highlight the importance of food safety measures and techniques, including our concerns about food irradiation, food borne illnesses, food handling, and material safety. We think that one of the largest impacts we can have for our stakeholders now is to work with our producers and vendors on improving the quality and production methods of their food, personal care and non-food products we carry, extending our requests even to the product packaging. What is different about Whole Foods Market is that we support our vendors with a roadmap and expert advice on how to move through the requested changes. In the following pages we would like to share a few of the ways our product categories and international programs are making a difference.

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Produce In 2011, organics accounted for more than 20 percent of the produce we sold in our stores.
During the last three years, weve made important headway on the prices of our organic produce, sometimes offering organic items for the same price as, and occasionally less than, their conventionally grown counterparts. As organic production becomes more wide-spread, and as we are able to source new organic products in other countries with excellent organic agricultural practices, we anticipate that availability will continue to rise while some prices, especially for in-season items, fall more in line with conventionally grown produce. Fresh produce is a delicious and critical component of a healthy diet. Our Health Starts Here in-store educators and the culinary classes we have at many stores serve as resources for customers wanting to transition to incorporating more fresh produce into their diets. By its nature as a live food, most produce is seasonal. In some parts of the country, for example parts of Texas and Florida, a sub-tropical climate means that local produce may be available for nine or ten months of the year. In Minnesota, Canada and Maine, it may be for three to four months. Every store

has a great deal of autonomy in working with local farmers and producers and we offer as much as possible of the seasonally available local produce that meets our quality standards and is available in sufficient quantity. Purchasing local produce supports farmers and growers within the community. Locally grown produce has fewer food miles on them and may be many days fresher than produce brought in from a distance. During summer and fall, primarily, many of our stores have abundant selections of locally grown vegetables and fruits. In addition, many of our stores provide space for farmers markets on their property or serve as a pick up point for local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) businesses. As of February 2011, all of the stores in our Florida region are available as drop-off/pick-up points for CSAs in their vicinity.

Whole Trade
In 2010, we established ourselves as a leading supporter of Fair Trade CertifiedTM produce and floral products in the United States. We inaugurated new supply chains and reinvested in existing sourcing partners. Were excited about a few specific Whole Trade products we carry in our produce departments. See the following discussion of our Haitian Francique mangos and Earth bananas. 14

Product Profiles

Whole Trade Haitian Mangos Coming from a network of hundreds of very small farmers, many of whom have just one or two mango trees, you

wont find our large, delicious Whole Trade Francique mangos anywhere else but Whole Foods Market. For some of these farmers, the annual mango harvest represents a large portion of their cash income for the year. Over the past several years, our partners at Perry Exports have helped these farmers organize into groups through which the farmers can sell their fruit more directly. Through these groups, we are able to make fixed price and minimum volume commitments before the season starts, so farmers know theyll have a market for their fruit. Our upfront offer gives farmers the confidence to reject the below market prices from local informal traders that are an unfortunate reality for most Haitian mango farmers. These mango farmer groups have achieved Fair Trade certification (no

small feat), which ensures that the groups are managed transparently and that our higher purchase price makes it all the way back to the farmers. Many groups have also achieved organic certification, which adds additional transparency and market value. While all of our Whole Trade Haitian mangos are Fair Trade, only some are also organic. In 2010, we increased our Fair Trade-certified mango purchases from Haiti 40% over the previous year at a time when the Haitian economy and infrastructure was especially challenged. We also traveled to Haiti to meet with our mango growers post-earthquake to find ways to grow our partnership. EARTH University Bananas Whole Foods Market has been buying EARTH bananas for more than six years, and this is the fourth year that we will buy all of their top quality production. We pay an above market, fixed price and buy directly from the EARTH University farm in Costa Rica; we ship and import the bananas ourselves. This direct trading model requires significant daily attention from a team at our national produce office but it allows us to pay EARTH more and lets us maintain a true direct connection to this farm. EARTHs profits from its sales to Whole Foods Market support a scholarship fund and university operations.

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Floral Among the notable accomplishments in our perishable product mix over the last few years is the development of our Whole Trade floral program.
We now offer Whole Trade roses and Gerbera daisies, along with other single bloom bunch and bouquet mixes.

Planet Foundation fund additional microcredit loans. Whole Foods Market now offers additional products to match a rising trend in environment-friendly urban and home gardening. While weve long offered items such as heirloom and/or openpollinated seeds, organic vegetable starts, fruit trees and canes, herbs and ornamental perennial and annual flowers, in some locations we are offering a larger selection for a longer time period and stocking new items like rain barrels. In some locations, we sell our own Green Mission-branded compost or Farmer Ds, both of which feature materials culled from Whole Foods Market stores. In addition some stores offer natural pest control alternatives and petroleumfree fertilizers and soil amendments. All of these products and options allow us to better serve our grow your own customers.

These flowers are grown and harvested using methods that offer better conditions, including higher compensation and lower exposure to pesticides, for workers on the flower farms. Plus one percent of the sales of these beautiful blooms go to help the Whole

Finally, our seasonal delights include the local flowers offered in various stores. Local vendors can sometimes offer more delicate and ephemeral flowers than those grown in commercial quantities, often producing bouquets of wildflowers or heirloom species once found in rural gardens of yesteryear.

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Product Profile

Whole Trade Roses Grown in the Ecuadorian Andes by a group of Fair Trade certified farms, these Whole Trade roses, or blooms with benefits as we sometimes call them, help to cultivate better working conditions and equitable wages for their workers. For each case of Whole Trade roses purchased by Whole Foods Market, an additional percentage is paid directly to organized worker groups at each farm. The groups collectively decide how to use the money for the benefit of the community. Some development projects have included education, training programs, health care and even housing. To participate in Fair Tradeor our Whole Tradeprograms, many aspects of flower production that may have deleterious effects on worker health or the health of the environment, such as pesticide use, are not allowed.

Meat Our meat and poultry is renowned for great taste and quality. We believe this has a lot to do with the care that goes into raising the animals and the true partnerships we have with our farmers and ranchers.
These partnerships allow us to offer the wide selection you see in our meat department, from grass-fed beef to pasture-raised veal to organic chicken. True partnerships also support the growth of local farming and ranching, which means more local meat and poultry in your neighborhood Whole Foods Market. When you buy local, the distance from farm to plate is

greatly reduced, resulting in fresher meats on your table. Our partnerships are developed with a dedication to transparency, accountability and responsibility. We seek partnerships with like-minded farmers and ranchers concerned with animal welfare. We collaborate with our farmers and ranchers to continually improve how animals are raised for meat. We believe the humane treatment of animals should be guided by an attitude of care, responsibility and respect. We work closely with our farmers and ranchers to focus on raising animals for high quality, great-tasting meat. Weve sought partnerships with a variety of regional and local grass-fed ranchers with the goal of helping bring grass-fed

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ranching back into the mainstream because of its positive impact on the cattle, the environment and how it supports local communities. Organic livestock standards prohibit the use of synthetic growth hormones and the use of antibiotics. The animals can be fed only organic feed, and processing for all meat and poultry products must meet organic standards as well.

Whole Foods Market does more than any other major food retailer to improve farming and ranching conditions for farmed food animals, and we work with producers and vendors to help change the industry. We know that we can do more and we are exploring possibilities like investing in ranch and farm mini-agricultural experiment stations and partnering more creatively with producers who are aligned with our mission.

endor Profile

Pineland Farms Natural Meats From its humble beginnings on the rocky coast of Maine to its present-day representation of more than 250 farming families, Pineland Farms Natural Meats maintains the same missions and goals: to strengthen family farms across the country, to raise cattle with dignity and integrity and to ensure only the highest quality beef makes it to their customers tables. Pineland Farms Natural Meat products are a result of hard work from generations of farmers. Each producer takes extraordinary pride in the natural beef they raise. This beef is being served at some of the finest restaurants and retailers in the world, including Whole Foods Market, bringing the connection back to the farm full cycle. Pineland Farms Beef is: Raised without antibiotics Given no added growth hormones Fed a vegetarian diet with no animal by-products The farms in this cooperative employ sustainable farming practices and minimize environmental impacts. All cattle are raised in a responsible, humane manner. Pineland Farms Natural Meats is a solid match in values and value for Whole Foods Market.

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5-Step Animal Welfare Rating System

Whole Foods Market is near the completion of conducting a pilot program for the Global Animal Partnership (GAP) to test the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system before GAP extends the program to other retailers. This tiered rating system ranks welfare practices and conditions within farm animal production systems. The intention is that this rating system will serve as both a framework to support continual improvement of animal welfare on farms and ranches and offer a clear way for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions based on animal welfare considerations. After pilot testing in a few regions, we rolled out the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system in all of our US stores in early 2011. A challenge weve encountered thus far is sourcing and providing adequate supplies of our rated meat to keep up with high customer demand. Securing organic pork has been especially challenging. Weve also needed to focus on educating customers and investors about the benefits of the 5-Step program for food animal welfare.

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Seafood Whole Foods Market carries the highest quality seafood and the best selection of responsibly farmed and wild-caught seafood of any retail grocery chain in the US.
Through our purchasing standards, labeling and education initiatives, we promote responsible fishing practices and the overall health of the oceans and coastal environments. And to boot, we own and operate four of our own seafood facilities that serve as bases for monitoring and distributing our seafood. Pigeon Cove (Gloucester, MA) Our only facility located right on the water featuring North Atlantic fish, haddock and flounder. Select Fish (Seattle, WA) Our primary purveyor of wild-caught Alaskan salmon; our own port buyer is located in Alaska sourcing the best fish in season, which is delivered directly to our stores. South Seafood (Atlanta, GA) Our gulf and southern Atlantic species experts, who are sourcing the best mahi mahi, grouper and snapper. Mid-Atlantic Seafood (Landover, MD) Our specialists in sourcing Icelandic and East Coast favorites such as local striped bass and blue crabs. Within the last few years, weve rolled out two major initiatives in our seafood department: our industry leading standards for farmed seafood and a color-coded rating program that provides shoppers with additional sustainability status information for fisheries that are not certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Our partnership with the MSC is the backbone of our wildcaught seafood sustainability program.
In 1999 Whole Foods Market was the first U.S. retailer to offer Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)- certified seafood and each year we continue to offer our customers more and more MSC-certified seafood options (look for the blue MSC logo identifying products from MSC-certified fisheries). Over a decade later the MSC is still the worlds leading certification program for sustainable wild-caught seafood and our partnership with them remains strong.

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We support the MSC because of their world- leading standards developed through a multi-stakeholder, international process. With their market-based approach, the MSC provides incentives for fisheries to address key issues such as overfishing and bycatch. And their requirement for third-party, including chain of custody certification ensures that the fish in our stores actually came from an MSC-certified fishery. The MSC is continually improving its processes and for a long time, Whole Foods Market has been involved in their efforts. Margaret Wittenberg, Whole Foods Markets Global Vice President for Quality Standards and Public Affairs, serves on the MSC Stakeholder Council and for many years prior was a member of the Board of Trustees.

sourcing responsibly. For example, years ago we stopped selling especially vulnerable species such as non-MSCcertified Chilean sea bass, orange roughy, bluefin tuna, and sharks. In partnership with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, weve implemented a color-coded rating system that provides shoppers with sustainability status information for all wild-caught seafood not certified by the MSC. Were proud to be the first national retailer to have such an extensive sustainability-rating program in all of our stores, which expands the opportunity for our shoppers to make fully-informed choices about their seafood. Our commitment to having sustainable seafood departments is so strong, as of Earth Day 2011 we eliminated all swordfish and tuna from red-rated fisheries. All other seafood from red-rated fisheries will be discontinued in our fresh seafood case by Earth Day 2012. Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market is working hard to find sources of these species from responsible fisheries and we hope that this rating program will continue to be an incentive for change, encouraging lower-rated fisheries to implement more effective management and fish more sustainably so that their rating can improve over time.

When MSC-certified options are not available, we give customers transparent information about the status of the wild-caught seafood we sell, letting them vote with their dollars, and commit to furthering positive change.
In addition to offering MSC- certified sustainable seafood, for years Whole Foods Market has been committed to

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With this commitment, we are one step closer to our goal of moving our product offeringsand the seafood industry as a wholetoward healthier oceans. Finally, Whole Foods Markets farmed seafood (aquaculture) standards remain the highest in the industry. The standards prohibit use of antibiotics, added growth hormones, added preservatives like sulfites and phosphates, geneticallymodified seafood, and land animal

by-products in feed. Our standards require that producers protect water quality, wildlife, and ecosystems. And we require third-party audits and traceability from farm to Whole Foods Market store. Look for the Responsibly Farmed logo, indicating that the farmed seafood meets these high standards.

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Product Profiles

Maldivian Tuna One new source of tuna comes from the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, where fishermen catch tuna in a traditional manner using a lowimpact pole and line method. Elsewhere, most tuna is caught with nets or longlines, which can capture not only the targeted catch, but also juvenile tuna and large amounts of bycatch, including threatened or endangered species such as sea turtles, sharks and seabirds.

Harpoon-Caught Swordfish Swordfish are a highly migratory species inhabiting tropical, temperate and even cold waters worldwide. In the summer months, North Atlantic swordfish are found in the deep waters off the coast of Nova Scotia. Skillful harpooners sight large, mature swordfish as they bask near the surface during the day, and target individual fish one-by-one with a harpoon attached to a line. Because fishermen actually see the swordfish theyre after, there is virtually no chance of catching small immature swordfish or other marine life accidentally (known as bycatch). The slow, one-by-one approach also helps prevent fishermen from catching too many fish and exceeding their legal quotas. Its an age- old fishing technique with very low impact on ocean habitat. Most of the boats are captain-owned and operate as day boatsreturning to harbor each day to unload their catch fresh rather than processing and freezing it on board. The fish we purchase is flown out and available for sale in our stores almost daily when in season. Following rigorous review and auditing, the Nova Scotia harpoon fishery was the first swordfish fishery ever to be certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

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Specialty Foods: Allegro Coffee Whole Foods Market is fortunate to own Allegro Coffee, a partnership of shared priorities and ideals.
In 2011, Allegro sourced coffee from 22 countries in the Americas, East Africa, and Asian Pacific Rim Islands. Allegro purchases its beans from approximately 80 farms and cooperatives. They continue to maintain relationships with producers from whom theyve bought for years and at the same time search out new farms that can meet Allegros quality requirements. Allegro has paid particular attention to new sources in El Salvador and Burundi. While the commercial market price for coffee has climbed over the last year or so, Allegro hopes that this means life will become a little better for farmers around the world who have for years produced a crop that has been hugely undervalued. Allegro pays a premium over the market price for, among other things, quality selection, relationship building,

and certifications like Organic and Rainforest Alliance.

The fair price provides coffee growers the means to reinvest in their farms, hire and retain the best workers, and stay in business over the long term.
Allegro also partners with coffee growers who share their values for environmentally friendly practices. These farmers utilize traditional and

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sustainable growing, harvesting and processing practices, including the use of shade trees, manual weeding (forgoing the use of pesticides), water conservation and other organic farming practices. Allegro gives back to various cooperative communities as part of its Special Reserve program. Allegro insists on transparency throughout the coffee supply chain and chooses

to partner with suppliers who share their values of equitable and traceable sourcing. And most importantly, Allegro will continue to buy coffee of exceptional quality that represents the best of its particular growing region. In addition to its socially aware sourcing efforts, Allegro has made impressive strides in its other sustainability measures in the past few years.

rogram Profile

A Sampler of Allegro Special Reserve Projects in Producer Communities In Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, Allegros Special Reserve program donates $10,000 to selected organic farms to support community-based education, health care and agricultural projects. In Rwanda, Allegro sources coffee from the Koakaka cooperative, and in 2011 donated $10,000 for technical support and raw materials for an income- and food-generating specialty mushroom growing program for the cooperative. In Tanzania, Allegro worked directly with their chosen co-ops cuppers in the Kigoma Region to select the beans for a Special Reserve coffee program. Allegros lot was the first that the co-op exported independently, which allowed the members to garner more of the profits and began the move towards self-sufficiency. To honor this relationship, Allegro donated $10,000 to Grounds for Health, a non-profit organization which creates effective cancer screening programs on coffee-producing regions. Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for women in low-resource countries like Tanzania, which has one of the highest rates in the world due to a lack of screening and prevention services. Grounds for Health programs deliver a simple and affordable solution to this problem.

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Grocery Whole Foods Market can spotlight several exciting developments in our grocery department in the last three years.
These involve impressive increases in our sales of organic products and Whole Trade items, revitalization of our bulk departments, our new focus on non-GMO verified products and, finally, our brand new home cleaning product standards and rating system. As the largest department in our stores, youll understand our excitement when our organic grocery sales topped $1 Billion in 2010; this equates to more than 39% of our grocery food sales for the year and double our organic sales in 2006. In just four years we are offering and selling more organic grocery products primarily because our customers are voting with their dollars in favor of organics. In 2010, sales topped $54 million on products with third party certifications for our Whole Trade Guarantee. This is 25% higher than the previous year, with more than 1,000 individual items. Were proud to offer products that provide additional benefits to producers and workers in developing countries and are delighted that one percent of the sale of each prod-

uct goes to fund microloans through our Whole Planet Foundation. As part of Whole Foods Markets focus on healthy eating education, were bringing a renewed focus to our bulk departments, and in some areas re-naming the department Cooking. We now offer an expanded selection of specialty grains and beans, bulk olive oils, and specialty vinegars, along with the typical nuts, trail mixes, and granolas that youll still find. Team Members staffing the department are happy to advise shoppers on how to prepare nutritious whole grains and beans.

As our customers return to the kitchen and retake their plates, we are positioning ourselves to help every step of the way.
Purchasing in bulk helps consumers customize the amount that they need for recipes therefore cutting down on potential food waste. Another benefit is minimizing the packaging brought into households, especially when customers bring their own containers. GMOs are becoming a more visible issue in the US. Many of our 365 Everyday Value products have already

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been verified as fully compliant to the Non-GMO Project Standard, with others at some stage in the verification pipeline. As our customers become more educated about the issues surrounding GMO corn, soybeans, and canola, the demand for GMO-free products is likely to rise. Many of our kid-friendly brands and products have been through the verification process already. Customers can avoid consuming GMO-tainted foods by choosing organically produced foods.

Cleaning Products Standards and Eco-Scale

Whole Foods Market launched our EcoScaleTM Rating System for household cleaning products on Earth Day in 2011 as a way to evaluate these products for environmental impact, safety, efficacy, source, labeling, and animal testing. Based on how the product ranks on the evaluation, we will rate it red, orange, yellow, or green on the Eco-Scale. When we launched the rating scale, many of our nationally distributed cleaning products including our own 365 Everyday Value, Biokleen, Method, Ecover, Better Life, and Greenshield were already audited and rated. We are counting on the success of this effort to build enough awareness among consumers that sales data on higher-

rated products will provide incentives for our vendors to reformulate products to meet the next tier. As the first retailer to create quality standards for household care products, Whole Foods Market is doing the research for our customers.

We have carefully evaluated each and every ingredient in our cleaning supply products based-upon environmental impact, safety, efficacy, source, labeling, and animal testing.

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This is another service we provide to our customers, especially since, according to current US regulations, ingredient listings are not required on cleaning supply products.
Orange tier standards:

Wine Whole Foods Markets national wine program represents a significant percentage of the companys total wine sales.
We work closely with vintners and vendors on these products, many of which are private label or co-branded products. National wine categories are classified as core (national brands), control (private labels), or eco- friendly, which includes: Sustainable, Organically Grown / Made from Organic Grapes, Organic (NOP), No Sulfite Added, and Fair Trade (Whole Trade). Currently there are no Biodynamic wines on the national core list, although some stores may carry them based on local availability and customer demand. Eco-friendly wines are closely tied to company values. In terms of sales floor space, stores typically allocate more merchandising space to eco-friendly wines than to wines with equivalent sales volume. The intent is to build awareness of these wines as products of quality and value that still are produced with sustainable principles in mind. The eco-friendly category has steadily increased both in volume and percentage

Full transparency, disclosure of ingredients on packaging Removal of ingredients with significant environmental or safety concerns No phosphates, chlorine, or synthetic colors No animal testing Independent 3rd party verified compliance to standards
Yellow tier standards

(all of the above plus:) Removal of ingredients with moderate environmental or safety concerns 100% natural fragrances
Green tier standards

(all of the above plus:) No petroleum-derived ingredients; only 100% natural ingredients

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compared to overall wine sales over the last five years. The category has faced a steep climb in terms of quality perception among wine drinkers. Ten years ago most casual or regular wine shoppers considered organically grown wines inferior to conventional wines. In our opinion, naturally produced wines exhibit the truest expressions of grape and soil.

We also fully support the use of alternative packaging to diminish the overall carbon footprint of wine consumption. We have developed both bag-in-box and tetra-pack private label wines. Our biggest wine launch of 2010 was the Three Wishes label, which includes Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The successful brand was devised using lightweight glass bottles rather than conventional wine bottles and the packaging message was part of the promotion of the wines extreme value.

Our focus on partnering with wineries to produce accessible, affordable, and environmentally responsible products is helping to re-shape consumer perceptions of the quality of sustainably grown wine!
In our efforts to bring all national wine products to market, Whole Foods Market directs vendor partners to use recycled cardboard shippers and soy-based inks on packaging. Along with many winemakers, we are supportive of efforts to conserve cork forests from overharvesting. Most of our stores provide receptacles where natural corks (a slow-to- replenish resource) are collected through the Cork Reharvest program and are recycled into durable goods.

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Vendor Profile

Parducci Whole Foods Market teamed with noted natural agriculturalist Paul Dolan to create Parducci Sustainable Red and White wines. Parducci is one of the most iconic brands in California and under Mr. Dolans stewardship has converted their vineyard to biodynamic principles. WFM suggested that Parducci take credit for their efforts by releasing affordable red and white wines with their responsible winegrowing practices, such as carbon neutral production, grapes from family farms, solar power, earth-friendly packaging, protecting the environment and locally-owned and operated clearly conveyed on the packaging.

Green Truck Whole Foods Market asked popular brand Red Truck to source and bottle organically grown wine for a private label project that became the Green Truck brand, which alludes to organic practices in the vineyards. The brand is so popular that many of the vineyards supplying Red Truck with grape juice now follow organic farming principles. Green Truck has become a large and prosperous national brand as a result of this partnership.

Whole Body Our Whole Body departments carry a variety of supplements, personal care products, and a range of other items that vary widely depending on location.
Many of our stores offer a selection of cotton clothing and home goods made from organic and sustainable raw materials, chosen because their manufacturers support wise environmental practices; many of these goods are also Fair Trade

items. Many of our stores also carry items such as blessing baskets, scarves and other items produced by Whole Planet Foundation loan recipients. Whole Foods Market is excited about two environmentally focused initiatives in Whole Body. First, we now have organic labeling on our personal care items with actual standards behind the label. Second, our Whole Body packaging is getting an environmentally friendly makeover. The items in this department may

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be small, but the change these initiatives may have on the industry and the environment can be huge. We believe that the organic claim used on personal care products should have the same meaning as the organic claim used on food products, which is regulated by the USDAs National Organic Program. Our customers do not expect the definition of organic to change substantially between the food and the non-food aisles of our stores. As of late 2011, were happy to announce that all cosmetic and personal care products that use the word organic in any way on the product label were required to be in compliance with our Whole Foods Market personal care labeling standards. In addition, our new Whole Foods Market responsible packaging guidelines for nutritional supplements and personal care products went into effect in September 2010. The guidelines require our Whole Body suppliers to reduce the use of plastic in product packaging, encourage the switch to glass when possible, and limit acceptable packaging materials to those that are the most recyclable and/or feature the highest possible recycled content.

Any prospective new Whole Body department suppliers must meet the packaging guidelines before their products can be sold in our stores. When the guidelines were implemented, our current Whole Body vendors were encouraged to change their packaging to fit the new guidelines as soon as operationally possible. We walked our talk by switching to a 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content bottle for several store-brand supplements. Our 365 Everyday Value brand body care items are also in 50% PCR content HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles. Supplements in boxes are transitioning to 100% recycled (50% PCR) paperboard. All of our house-brand Whole Foods Market supplement products switched to packaging with a high percentage of PCR by the end of 2010. The leaf symbol on our store- branded supplements indicates that the bottles are made from 100% PCR PET (post- consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. We chose to do this because PCR materials require less energy and water to produce. They also generate far fewer greenhouse gases and divert reusable materials away from landfills while reducing reliance on virgin petrochemicals or wood pulp.

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While developing our new packaging guidelines, we worked with 25 of our largest Whole Body product suppliers. We also called on packaging experts in plastic, glass, and paper media to help us define the most responsible path for product suppliers to take when designing their packaging. Happily, our vendors

have responded by providing many more environmentally friendly options for our customers. Through the development process weve been able to create a forum for vendors to share best practices, helping the whole industry move forward with the environment in mind.

Vendor Profile

Alaffia Sustainable Skincare Alaffia was created to help West African communities become sustainable through the fair trade of indigenous resources. They encourage empowerment through community projects, womens cooperatives, and education and involvement in customer communities. Whole Foods Market carries a line of premium skin care from Alaffia, but when the US economy slowed down in 2008, sales fell dramatically. We then supported Alaffia in creating their value-priced EveryDay Shea, which has had an enormous impact beyond providing an excellent skin moisturizer at an affordable price for our customers. Heres what consumer purchases of EveryDay Shea mean to the Alaffia shea co- operative: collected and distributed over 500 bicycles to encourage young women to stay in school built our first biogas system to reduce fuel wood use planted 1,000 trees and set aside enough funds to propagate and plant another 4,000 trees increased the number of women in their maternal health project from 100 to 400 recruited 18 more women to join our shea butter cooperative (with Togos extended family structure, this income will support 200 people) The cost to handcraft shea butter at the Alaffia Cooperative is over two times the price of shea butter at West African ports. Why the high cost? Alaffia pays 15-25% more for shea nuts, cooperative members receive a salary that is more than four times the average family income in Togo, and cooperative members also receive full medical care, employment security, and one paid month of vacation each year.

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Our Green Mission

Much of Whole Foods Markets environmental stewardship occurs at the store or facility level. Nearly every store has a green mission team, and some of our regions have Green Mission Specialists who help coordinate larger programs.
While most of our customer- facing efforts such as recycling centers, sales of reusable grocery bags, and educational outreach are widely known, some of our back-of-the-house efforts with waste reduction, energy conservation, renewable energy, and green building are pretty impressive, too.

in the waste services offered we are a few years away from providing an aggregated waste diversion rate with fully transparent accuracy. The good news is that many of our stores have achieved a waste stream diversion rate of more than 80%, with some approaching and even exceeding the 90% level, which the EPA defines as the level at which they consider zero waste has been achieved. We are in the early days of the effort to aggregate and normalize the data on waste diversion, and we have a commitment to grow the number. We achieve this level of diversion at stores with several factors in place including a trained, committed staff and

Waste Reduction Whole Foods Market is committed to diverting materials from community landfills.
The majority of the stores in our operating regions have experienced significant volumes of waste reduction through recycling and composting programs. Most of our stores offer compostable deli containers in prepared food areas, further reducing burdens on area landfills once our customers leave the store. Were doing a lot on multiple fronts, yet because our communities vary widely

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leadership, accurate initial benchmarking of the store or facilitys waste stream, a community infrastructure that supports comprehensive recycling and commercial composting and/or access to a regional distribution center fleet capable of backhauling compost, shrink wrap, and other recyclables to a central location with better access to recycling and composting programs. In the Northeast Region, for example, all 23 stores have full recycling programs that accommodate film and rigid plastics (#1 through 7), glass, metal, paper, bulk fixtures, and electronics (including lamps and batteries).

Our transportation fleet and regional distribution centers are key players in our recycling efforts, with delivery trucks backhauling cardboard, pallets, plastic wrap, and in some areas without community recycling opportunities, compost and even glass. With that said, 20 of the 23 stores average about 80 to 90 percent diversion, with the majority at the 80% level. The three stores without access to a commercial compost solution are at the 30 to 40% diversion rate. Given the high percentage of perishables and prepared foods featured in our stores, ready access to commercial composting facilities is absolutely critical for limiting our contributions to community landfills.

rogram Profile

Green Mission Congress Team Members (most of them with jobs that specifically touched our Green Mission) convened from across the company in 2008 for our Green Mission Congress, a three-day summit on sustainability goal-setting. We invited several subject-matter-experts from outside the company to help us put our unique opportunities and goals into an appropriate perspective. One outcome of the Green Mission Congress was a list of prioritized environmental goals for the company. This ranked list was offered to the Whole Foods Leadership Network (our company leadership group) for consideration, approval, and funding; many projects such as the elimination of Styrofoam from our supply chain and energy use reductions have since been initiated. This process exemplifies our bottom-up approach to environmental stewardshipmany of our best ideas come from our passionate Team Members.

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2010 Average Waste Diversion Whole Foods Market Stores

commingled recycling 3% soft plastics 1% hard plastics >1% compost and organics 39%

cardboard and paper 22%

trash (landfill) 35%

Average diversion rate of 65%

Our Northeast Region also typifies our approach to reusable non-recyclables: Cull CommunityCompost. Every store has a cull program for usable perishable food. Culled items may be diverted to our prepared foods, cut fruit, or bakery departments to provide nutritious ingredients for salsa, muffins, or coleslaw, among other things. The numbers on culling are difficult to track, although we may make it a future goal to try to do so. Every store has community food donation programs, and while we dont yet have accurate metrics for every single

storethis is a company goal for 2012 we do have some impressive numbers from the NYC stores. These six stores donated more than 400,000 pounds of food in 2010thats a whopping 200 tons of food for shelters and food banks or 400,000 meals per food bank calculations! Finally, composting is a critical part of our waste diversion program. In those communities where commercial composting is available, our stores have developed protocols in every department to make sure that we capture anything 35

that can be diverted away from landfills. In some parts of the US we still have a way to go. For example, in the entire state of Florida it was illegal to commercially compost anything other than yard waste until 2010. Now that composting is legal for pre-consumer use items, the community infrastructure for composting is not yet in place. Once composting is available, though, Whole Foods Market will be first in line to use those services. Similarly, in Illinois, food waste composting was made legal in 2010 and the Midwest region has been working with the first licensed food waste composter in the Chicago area to roll out a composting program to our Chicago area stores, with impressive diversion rates in the first year. A few of our stores are piloting the Waste to Water machine that relies on microbes to break down food waste; it handles a ton of food waste every day, helping us avoid hauling and tipping fees, while also decreasing our carbon footprint. Other stores are experimenting with worm compost systemsin the employee break rooms! In the name of recycling and composting, our Team Members are willing to try just about anything.

(Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North and South Carolina). Our Braselton Distribution Center serves as the hub for the backhauled compostable and recyclable materials coming from the stores in the region. Using our custom-painted Green Machine, we haul the compostable materials acquired from our stores to Longwood Plantation, where many of our local farmers get their compost. We are able to keep 25 tons of reusable materials per week out of local landfills with this relationship. The biodynamic compost is used to grow the vegetables we sell in our stores. We also sell the compost at our stores. This is very much a full circle!

Customer Programs
On the customer-facing side of the business, most of our stores have full recycling available to our customers in our dining areas. Most stores accept plastic shopping bags for recycling, even though we no longer offer them as a bagging option. Two popular recycling partnerships featured in our stores are Gimme 5 and Cork ReHarvest. Customers can drop off their #5 plastic yogurt cups and Brita filters in the Gimme 5 bins at the stores. The plastics are bundled and sent to our vendor/partner Preserve, who manufactures the plastics into completely new products, saving resources such as energy and virgin petrochemicals in the 36

Full Circle Composting

One example of our full circle success stories takes place in our South region

Full Circle Composting

meantime. Customers also bring their wine corks into our stores for recycling. Cork ReHarvest takes the collected cork from us and their recycling partners manuacture useful items like cork flooring.

Many of our stores partner with electronic reclamation firms or organizations like Goodwill to hold annual electronics drop-off days. Customers are encouraged to load their old equipment in their cars to drop off at a Whole Foods Market location. 37

Grocery Bags
Every year Americans come home from shopping with 1 billion one-use shopping bags, creating 300,000 tons of landfill waste. Only about one percent of bags are actually recycled. Unfortunately, many of those that are recycled jam up the sorting machines programs. Whole Foods Market discontinued the use of disposable plastic grocery bags at the checkouts at our stores in the US, Canada and the UK on Earth Day 2008. The goal is to reduce our environmental impact, help protect wildlife, decrease litter, and promote reusing and recycling. We offer a variety of reusable bags for sale, including our low-cost Better Bags in two sizes, and most stores offer customers a refund of up to 10 cents for bringing their own carrier bags. We estimate, conservatively, that weve kept tens of millions of plastic bags out of landfills with our decision and our customers willingness to reuse shopping bags. To illustrate how individual actions can add up to big numbers, our customers filled more than 70 million reusable bags with groceries in 2011. In 2009, Whole Foods Market became the first national retailer to use Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper grocery bags. These paper bags close the loop with 100 percent post-consumer reclaimed material and can be tracked throughout the supply chainfrom postconsumer waste through processing and distribution to the customers toting groceries back to their homesall while reducing pressure on virgin forests and protecting biodiversity.

Responsible Packaging and Supplies One of the big environmental benefits that Whole Foods Market can co-create is working with our vendor partners to ensure more responsible packaging for the products coming into our stores.
Happily, many of our vendors voluntarily participate in our evolving standards for packaging. For example, in 2009, we contacted all vendors who use Styrofoam packing materials, giving them a deadline of November 30 to migrate to alternative materialsand almost everyone complied. Weve had heartening successes in recent months with our Whole Body product vendors, which were discussed in the section on Whole Body. Understandably, we have the most control over our own store branded 38

items, such as our 365 Everyday Value products, and the packaging we use in our prepared foods venues and our perishable departments, such as meat and seafood. Over the last four years we replaced many of our traditional plastic and paper prepared food containers and utensils with all-natural fiber packaging that is environmentally friendly and often tree-free. Made from renewable resourcessuch as bulrushes, sugar cane pulp, corn starch, and bamboothe containers and wrappers are compostable and, because they are unbleached, are free from chlorine and dioxins. But even in those areas where we think we might have a lot of control over packaging, we have found that it isnt always a straightforward path. Many packaging product vendors have entered the green marketing space with solutions promising many environmental benefits. Upon further investigation, these claims may not always match up to reality, such as biodegradability in a reasonable amount of time. If the claims do pan out, the product may not meet our quality standards. The very real probability of GMO-tainting exists if the product contains soy or corn. Sourcing truly recyclable or compostable flatware and straws that will stand up to customer use continues to be a challenge for us. Sometimes our choices are between an unacceptable option and a less bad

option. Packaging is an area where we know we have quite a bit of work ahead of us and where were keeping a close eye on the packaging marketplace for truly better solutions. The up side is that many of our vendors are willing to partner with us to come up with better solutions. A few of our vendors are very serious about taking responsibility for the entire life cycle of the packaging they use for their products. Understandably, we support their intentions and successes. Whole Foods Market has had some impressive packaging wins in the last few years, even if on a small scale. One of the most visible is our deployment of a 16 pizza box made from 100% post-consumer fiber that can easily be converted to four plates or a half box for storage of leftovers in the refrigerator. Introduced in our Rocky Mountain region in 2010, the box is available in our other regions now as well. Another packaging win with a 5-year track record is the food bar container youll find in many of our stores. Made from annually renewable bulrush and a blend of other plant fibers, the container is harvested from the wild, tree-free, compostable in 90 days and Cradle-toCradle Silver certified. 39

Several back-of-the-store solutions with customer-facing overlaps arent as sexy as the convertible pizza box, but they also represent our dedication to choosing environmentally friendly options. In the supply realm, we introduced trash can liners for store use that are made from 70% post-consumer resin content and we switched to using DEHP-free vinyl gloves. We also eliminated BPA in our scale labels and cash register tapes at our stores. The health implications of these changes impact our Team Members more than customers, although the environmental implications affect us all. We recently launched a national test initiative to convert as many Styrofoam trays, used primarily in our meat departments, to compostable fiber as possible. Were still working out the kinks on this effort, but would like to eliminate all use of Styrofoam packaging in the near future. Whole Foods Market uses a process that goes beyond cost alone for selecting new packaging and supply materials that are negotiated at a national or company-wide scale. We typically test a new product in a few stores or in a region before rolling the material out to the rest of the company. We use the following criteria for our bulk purchases of these items.

The product must: Be as environmentally responsible as possible, with third party certifications that back up any environmental claims, and show that our quality standards are being met, Have an ingredient list that tells us what the item is made from, as opposed to a formula, Offer a description of where and how the item is made, including the environmental and social impacts of its production, Provide an analysis of the life cycle of the product, Lend itself to an investigation of the items performance both in-store and in the consumers hands. If the European market is any indication, consumer demands for more responsible packaging will impact food retailing dramatically in the next few years. Whole Foods Market fully supports this trend and is working with our vendors to make better choices for our environment.

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Renewable and Alternative Energy In 2006, Whole Foods Market made a landmark purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) from wind farms to offset 100% of the electricity used in all of our stores, facilities, and offices in the US and Canada.
It was the largest wind energy credit purchase by a public company to that date. We continue to offset up to 100% of our electricity use with RECs. So far weve purchased more than 4 billion kWh of wind-based renewable energy credits, which has helped grow the wind energy industry in the United States over the last seven years.

This ensures that for every kilowatt hour of electricity used by Whole Foods Market in 2012, another kilowatt hour of electricity funded by Whole Foods Market will be generated by US wind farms and delivered to the power grid. The 2012 purchase is equivalent to the annual electricity production of more than 125 wind turbines (1.5 megawatt capacity), or the annual electricity production of more than 1,500 photovoltaic solar panels (230 watt capacity). We are proud to have been named an EPA Green Power Partner of the year in 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011. Whole Foods Market hosts or owns solar energy systems at 16 retail store locations and one distribution center and has contracted for up to 20 more. In 2002, the Berkeley store became the nations first major food retailer to introduce solar energy as its primary lighting power source. For more recent examples, the Brentwood, California store uses solar energy for 24% of its power needs, and the Edgewater, New Jersey store (pictured above) hosts an impressive array of 14,000 square feet of solar panels. A typical solar installation can produce (and save!) more than 2.2 million kilowatt hours over a 20-year period, help avoid more than 1,650 tons of CO2 emissions the equivalent of removing 440 cars from

For 2012, Whole Foods Market purchased 800 million kWh of wind RECs.

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the roadwaysand lower the draw on our countrys power grids. Two of our stores in Connecticut (Glastonbury and Fairfield) and one each in California (San Jose) and Massachusetts (Dedham) host on-site fuel cells that provide up to 100% of the facilitys power needs during much of the year. Our Dedham store also hosts solar panels on its roof, therefore meeting most of its yearly power needs off the grid. In addition, Whole Foods Market became the first company in the US to generate its electricity needs on-site using recycled cooking oil at its Everett, Massachusetts-based commissary kitchen. Were gaining a wealth of experience using alternative energy systems in retail environments.

Energy Conservation One of the smartest ways to save utility costs and reduce GHG emissions is not to use the energy in the first place.
Whole Foods Market implemented energy-efficiency upgrades in many existing retail stores during the last three years that have saved more than 20 million kWh of energy. This is the equivalent of NOT burning more than 1.5 million

Our transportation fleet uses Bio-diesel in nearly one third of our companys trucks, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
For example, our Atlanta-area distribution center, which uses the South Regions spent cooking oil to supply fuel for its trucks, eliminates more than 250,000 pounds of emissions per year.

gallons of gasoline! While these upgrades represent considerable capital investment more than $10 million in the last 18 monthsweve found that the payback time in terms of energy costs avoided averages less than two years among our various projects. Among the easiest of our long-term investments is installing energy efficient LED fixtures, which weve undertaken at

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dozens of stores to date. Can you imagine not having to change the bulb for 10 years or more? Refrigeration represents one of the largest draws on power in a grocery store. To cut down on refrigeration energy use, weve focused on specific enhancements and upgrades in our older stores including the installation of: Energy efficient doors on freezer and dairy cases Triple-pane glass with an anti-fog coating on refrigerator doors, eliminating the need for door heaters for icing or fogging Night curtains on refrigerators to conserve energy while keeping product at the appropriate temperature when stores are closed LED lighting in all chilled cases Weve also incorporated many minimum energy-efficiency standards into new store designs, and many stores exceed the minimum by leaps and bounds. For example, our South Glenn, Colorado store (approximately 15 percent smaller in square footage) uses roughly 35 percent less energy than two older stores nearby, and our newest Santa Barbara store in California uses 45 percent less

energy than a nearby store of comparable size.

In April 2010, Whole Foods Market announced our commitment to reduce energy consumption at all stores by 25 percent per square foot by 2015. The plans for some tiers of this ambitious goal are still in development, but weve made significant progress to date. Some of our newly opened stores are realizing an average of 10-30% less energy usage than existing stores of comparable size. Were continuing with our energy conservation projects in existing stores, which will reduce our energy usage by a total of 31.75 million kWh when currently scheduled upgrades are complete. The impact on our GHG emissions will be similar to removing more than 4,300 cars from the road for a year.

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One challenge ahead of us is the organizational and individual behavior changes necessary to achieve (and maintain) the final 5-10 percent of our energy reduction goals. Some of our regions already have Green Mission training for Team Members and at least one has mandatory education programs available. All Team Members have a part to play in meeting our goal; targeted education and awareness campaigns will help empower each person to make a difference.

Carbon Tracking & Reduction Whole Foods Market understands that if were using conventional electricity and natural gas, were responsible for emitting greenhouse gasses (GHG).
Weve implemented a tracking and reporting system for natural gas and electricity consumption which, along with already-tracked refrigerant leaks and transportation fleet emissions, will allow us to develop an inventory of scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. Rolled out in 2008 in select regions, our goal is to have all of our stores and facilities in the US entered into the tracking system using 2008 baseline information by 2012.

In the interest of transparency Whole Foods Market has participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project since 2008 even though we will not have the ability to report on all of our global facilities until the 2012 report. We employ a comprehensive approach to electricity monitoring in more than 100 of our stores by employing a webbased, near-real-time energy metering and sub- metering and exception reporting system to reduce energy usage and costs. We are also upgrading equipment and older systems with more modern, efficient systems. In stores where weve conducted energy retrofits and alternative energy audits, weve reduced grid energy consumption between 10 and 50%. The company is also setting internal goals for greenhouse gas reduction in future years by using smart design and energy-reduction technologies. Whole Foods Market is a GreenChill partner. GreenChill is an EPA Partnership with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change. Along with the use of bio-fuels mentioned earlier, our transportation fleet was fitted with aerodynamic aprons to cut down on wind resistance, resulting in less fuel consumption. These trucks also use a fuel-saving (and emissions-cutting) system that allows the 44

engine to be turned off completely at loading and delivery, rather than remain idling. In addition, by implementing transportation optimization programs for our fleet, we have reduced truck deliveries by more than two million miles and are using approximately 360,000 fewer gallons of diesel fuel per year. We believe this number can increase in the coming year as other regions adopt this initiative. Finally, some of our Distribution Centers have joined the EPAs Smartway trucking program. Our corporate travel policy strongly encourages use of public transportation rather than individual car rentals and discourages travel for meetings that can be conducted using technology such as Microsoft Live Meeting or conference calling. Many of our regions offer employee incentives for using public transportation, carpooling, biking to work, or using hybrid or electric cars. All of these options reduce or eliminate emissions and save on petroleum-based fuel usage. We are one of the first national retailers to install recharging stations for electric cars. Our customers have already proven that they are early adopters and supporters of this technology.

Green Building and Design Whole Foods Market received the first Green Building award in Austin, Texas in 1998 for the expansion and renovation of our corporate headquarters, which was completed in 1995.
Sustainable material specifications combined with conscientious construction methods resulted in a healthy, durable facility. Because of the 42% waste reduction during the construction process, we were profiled by the EPA as a construction waste reduction and recycling recordsetter. Weve grown considerably since that time, as has the green building industry, and in 2005, moved into a new headquarters building, also an award winner for its energy conservation features. Whole Foods Market typically builds its new stores, or retrofits existing structures, in mixed-use shopping centers. Our stores are designed to fit in with their particular neighborhoods and designs typically incorporate locally available building materials including re-purposed or recycled materialswhich can save on transportation of materials.

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The green building techniques we use also conserve natural resources by reducing the use of virgin raw materials and minimizing the amount of toxic resins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) off-gassed by traditional building materials such as laminates, paint, and carpeting. Our newest generation of green buildings also saves significant energy costs over the life of the buildings and its various retail support systems. For example, our SouthGlenn store in Colorado (opened in 2009) operates with 35% less energy use (though only 15% smaller in square footage) than the nearby, older Tamarac and Belmar stores. Our current new store construction includes innovative green materials such as MDF (medium density fiberboard), made from 100% recovered and recycled wood fiber; Marmoleum, a

natural linoleum product; and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified Wood. Were also proud that were in a continual learning process with our green building efforts. We find out what works well in one store and replicate that materialor improve upon itfor other stores in our development queue. Nearly every one of our newer stores has a long list of environmentally friendly materials, building systems, and design elements. We pay attention to everything, from saving energy to supporting local artists who use recycled materials as their medium to saving bird habitat! For example as you can see on the following page, our Jacksonville, Florida store (which opened in 2010) included the following intentions, materials, and design features.

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Store Profil

Jacksonville, Florida Store Design Features Exterior: Regenerating an existing shopping center helps prevent sprawl. Refurbishing the buildings and salvaging and transplanting the landscaping help reduce waste. Reclaimed Florida cypress is used for the canopy underside, reducing the consumption of new growth resources. Highly reflective white roof reduces the energy required to air-condition the building by decreasing heat flow through the building envelope. Living Walls of native plants along the South facade increase insulation, reduce heat gain, and provide habitat for local fauna. Native plants, low water landscaping, and low velocity watering systems around the building help control water use. Rainwater harvesting tanks on the east side of the building drain water off of the roof; stored water is used to irrigate the landscaping without drawing from the water reserves of the community. In the vicinity for more than 20 years, we made sure a birdhouse that had seen steady use was undisturbed during the store remodel. Interior: Wall and counter coverings include Caba BARKSKIN, a hand-pounded

and hand-woven organic material made from the bark of fallen trees, and local artisan-crafted recycled glass Stardust tiles. Our floor covering, Forbo Marmoleum, is produced from these renewable materials: linseed oil, rosin, wood flour, cork flour, and limestone. The preferred backing material, jute, is spun from the fibers of jute plants in India and Bangladesh, where they are abundant and the business helps support the developing economy. We chose real wood veneer laminates that are sustainably harvested from plantations subjected to third-party oversight and treated using water-based dyes and stains free of heavy metals. We used water-based, zero-VOC interior paint; no chemicals are off-gassed into the environment. We used 100% recycled glass tiles; the manufacturing process uses one half of the energy used to produce ceramic tile. Restrooms are equipped with selfflushing toilets (also self-generating for power due to a hydro-powered turbine in the fixture) and non-flushing urinals, motion sensor lighting, automatic water faucets and hand dryers that require 80% less energy and reduce paper towel use by 95%. The solar tube day-lighting system and skylights throughout the store and office provide natural lighting, which reduces energy costs by up to 30%.

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LEED, Green Globes and GreenChill Numerous environmental certifications for our stores reflect our companys commitment to energy-efficient designs and equipment as well as using recycled and sustainable building materials where possible.
In 2005, our store in Sarasota, Florida received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification by the US Green Building Council, the first-ever environmentally friendly supermarket designed in accordance with the LEED Green Building Rating System. As of late 2011, we had nearly 40 stores that are either LEED or Green Globes certified, registered, or in development. We dont register all of our stores for certification, but all are designed with green building elements that equal or exceed LEED-certified or Green Globes criteria. In fact some of our stores were certified after the fact! Green Globes is an alternative green building standard with energy criteria more applicable to the food retail sector. Whole Foods Market is the first supermarket to be certified through the Green Globes program. Our Dedham, Massachusetts store earned 3 Green Globes (similar to LEED Gold), thanks in part to a fuel cell and solar panels that generate on site at least 90% of the stores power needs. Our Lake Grove, New York store earned both 3 Green Globes and LEED Gold certification.

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LEED Certifications for Whole Foods Market Stores

Whole Foods Market Store Sarasota, Florida Lamar, Texas El Segundo, California South Loop, Illinois Glastonbury, Connecticut Arroyo, California Jamboree, California Upper West Side, New York Milford, Connecticut Lake Grove, New York Lincoln Park, Illinois Venice, California Darien, Connecticut N. Raleigh, N. Carolina Fairfield, Connecticut Yonkers, New York 57th Street, New York Danbury, Connecticut Brooklyn, New York Marlboro, New Jersey Closter, New York Yonkers, New York Chandler, Arizona Kahala Mall, Hawaii Las Vegas, Nevada Maui Mall, Hawaii Scottsdale, Arizona Yonkers, New York Tempe, Arizona Kailua, Hawaii Santa Barbara, California Belmar, California Certification Date 2005 2006 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 Certification Level Silver Certified Certified Gold Certified Certified Certified Gold Gold Gold Certified Certified Gold Gold Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered Registered

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Green Globes Certifications for Whole Foods Market Stores

Whole Foods Market Store Dedham, Massachusetts Southglenn, Colorado Lake Grove, New York Wellesley, Massachusetts Salt Lake City, Utah Brooklyn, New York Certification Date 2009 2009 2010 2011 2011 No. of Globes/ LEED equivalency 3 (Eq. to LEED Gold) 1 (Eq. to LEED Certified) 3 (Eq. to LEED Gold) 3 (Eq. to LEED Gold) 2 (Eq. to LEED Silver) Registered

Several recently opened Whole Foods Market stores received the EPAs GreenChills Silver Level store certification: Schaumberg, Illinois, San Jose, California, Fairview, Texas, and Dedham, Massachusetts; our Santa Rosa, California store achieved GreenChills Gold Level store certification.

GreenChill Awards (Renewed Yearly) for Whole Foods Market Stores

Whole Foods Market Store Fairfield, Connecticut Southglenn, Colorado Lake Grove, New York Wellesley, Massachusetts Dedham, Massachusetts Marietta, Georgia Lakewood, Texas Park Lane, Texas Fairview, Texas Foggy Bottom, Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Coddington, California Blossom Hill, California Stanyan, California Lafayette, California Folsom, California Shaumberg, Illinois Award Date 2011 2009 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 No. of Globes/ LEED equivalency Gold Certified Gold Gold Silver Gold Silver Silver Silver Gold Silver Gold Silver Gold Gold Gold Silver 50

Community Partnering
As a company, Whole Foods Market donates at least five percent of profits to charitable organizations in a variety of ways, including our 5% days, donation of product and services, and Team Member volunteer projects.
We also partner with our local producer community by offering an innovative low-interest loan program that bypasses traditional banks. On designated days throughout the year, a total of 5% of the days net sales in our stores are donated to a designated local non-profit organization. Customers help support these preselected organizations just by shopping on these 5% Days. Occasionally all of the stores in a metropolitan area agree to sponsor an organization on a chosen day, which ups the amount of the donation considerably. Recipient organizations get to share their cause with the public by maintaining a booth at the store with a representative from the organization for the entire day. This is a great way for an organization to increase funds and gain exposure. Whole Foods Market also partners with community organizations via product or services donations. We may donate cases of water and frozen fruit bars for a summer fun run, pastries for a concert held to raise funds for charity, the use of a cooking school for a cooking demonstration during a food-related conference, or even larger donations during local emergencies, such as floods or hurricanes. Finally, the number of ways we partner with community organizations off-site or on-site to help community gardens, provide space for art exhibits from fine painting to guerilla art, teach nutrition to school children or feed the homeless is limited only by the imaginations of our Team Members and community partners. For example, every store in our MidAtlantic region helps with a community garden project. Team Members at our Braselton Distribution center grow vegetables and fruit on the facilitys grounds and donate the produce to local

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Community Project Profile

Feeding the Homeless Our Devon, Pennsylvania store partners with two area homeless shelters to take the Health Starts Here message to them and to feed the patrons high quality, chef- prepared meals. They obtain most of the food from the stores culling programs in Produce and Bakery, as well as using the food from dented cans in the Grocery department. The stores partners are Safe Harbor, a shelter that houses fifty men and women located in the heart of downtown West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Center for Homeless Outreach, a fifty-bed facility located on the grounds of Norristown State Hospital. Five people on each Feed the Homeless team are responsible for culling the food needed to make healthy versions of lasagna, fruit salad, green salad, vegetable soup, and dessert. Culled flowers are used for each tables centerpiece. They wear chef coats when serving to demonstrate that the residents are important and that they are proud to be there with them. Based on their collections, between the feeding the homeless and donating culled food to two different food cupboards, Team Member volunteers are culling about 1,500 pounds of usable food each month from the small Devon store.

food pantries. Our Ann Arbor, Michigan, store converted its empty mezzanine space into an art gallery offering four different exhibits each year, with free space for local artists, as well as a performance venue for local musicians. Were an active part of our communities everywhere theres a Whole Foods Market.

producers. We believe in supporting local farmers and producers and want to make it easier for them to grow their businesses and bring more local products to market. Loans range from $1,000 to $100,000 and can be for things like purchasing more animals, investing in new equipment, or converting to organic production. This program minimizes the fees, interest rates, and paperwork that can often get in the way of a small local farm or business taking the next step toward expanding its operations. Since inception in 2007, the program has loaned out more than $5 million.

Local Producer Loan Program

Whole Foods Markets Local Producer Loan Program provides up to $10 million in low- interest loans to small, local

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We have completed loans to organic vegetable farmers, a heritage turkey grower, a nutritional protein bar maker, a maker of body care products, and many others. The program is driven by the twelve regions of Whole Foods Market, with support from the Local Producer Loan Program office in Austin. In addition to fostering supportive relationships with growers and producers in our regions, the loan program supports the development of specific products (including organic and animal compassionate products) that we would like to include in our stores.

Partner Profile

Whole Planet Foundation Supplier Alliance for Microcredit An association of like-minded companies, the Supplier Alliance for Microcredit is helping to change the course of poverty through a grassroots agreement to fund microcredit. In 2008, Whole Foods Market was a founding member of this unique coalition of several natural foods companies pledging $1.05 million over a three-year period to support microlending through Whole Planet Foundation. Seven of the original companiesincluding Allegro Coffee Company, Back to Nature, Cascal, Earths Best, Naked Juice, Seventh Generation, Stacys, Teas Tea and Whole Foods Marketrenewed their commitment to Whole Planet Foundations mission in 2011 with an additional pledge of $1.45 million.

Whole Planet Foundation

A Whole Foods Market nonprofit created in 2005, Whole Planet Foundation empowers the poor through microcredit loans. Whole Planet Foundation partners

with established microfinance organizations operating in communities that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products, with a specific focus on the developing world. The Foundation provides grants to partner organizations, which then provide impoverished entrepreneurs with access to capital and credit to start or expand small, homebased businesses and, through the success of the business, lift themselves out of poverty.

As of late 2011, the Foundation has disbursed more than $114 million in microloans in 50 countries in Africa, Asia, North America and Latin America, offering nearly 200,000 people (92% of them women) with an opportunity to change their own lives. With administrative costs wholly covered by Whole Foods Market, 100% of donations go directly to providing small

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loans (the average amount is $235) to entrepreneurs. Whole Planet Foundations funding is provided through multiple channels: Whole Foods Market Team Member payroll donations (nearly $3M since 2007), online giving, annual month-long store campaigns (more than $4M raised in 2011), store-level fundraising events, and the Supplier Alliance for Microcredit, detailed above. In addition, up to one percent of the sales of many of our Whole Trade products go to funding the Whole Planet Foundation. With nearly 1,000 third-party certified Whole Trade products, funding for the Foundation totaled more than $740,000 in 2011.

Planet Foundation microentrepreneurs to learn about the businesses and experience the impact that small loans can have on the lives of people. The in-country experience is run by partners worldwide who have experience hosting volunteers. Team Members return to their home location and bring global knowledge to their local environment, using their influence and knowledge to increase support for the Whole Planet Foundation and make a difference in their own localities. Whole Foods Market supports this program to help Team Members fulfill our Core Value of Caring for our Communities. How does it work? Team Members whove worked at Whole Foods Market for at least a year and who are in good standing apply for one of the four volunteer opportunities. If chosen to go, Whole Foods Market covers the full cost of the program while in-country. Team members cover their airfare and must take leave from their jobs for the two- or four-week experience. Since the program started in 2007, 168 Team Members have participated in the program, with 60 more slated to go in 2012. Past programs have been held in Costa Rica and Guatemala, as well.

Whole Planet Foundations Team Member Volunteer Program

The Team Member Volunteer Program enables select Team Members to participate in a 1-week, 2-week or 4-week immersion program in developing world communities in New York City, India, Kenya, and Peru where Whole Planet Foundation is currently working. Eventually, this program will be offered in all the countries where the Foundation works. The program immerses team members in local language, culture, and community activities. Volunteers donate time to projects ranging from education to environmental conservation. Team Member volunteers also visit Whole

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Microcredit Profile

Meet Three Microcredit Clients

Manuela, a microcredit client of Pro Mujer in Peru, used her microloan to expand her fruit stand business. She likes Pro Mujer, not just for the microcredit loans they offer, but also for other services like their mobile health campaign. Whole Planet Foundation is proud to partner with Pro Mujer in Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Nicaragua. Claudine, a farmer in Jurwe, Rwanda, is a microcredit client of Whole Planet Foundation partner One Acre Fund. Her first seasons maize harvest was the best harvest Ive ever seen, she said. She harvested 440 pounds of maize on 1/10 acre of land! She attributes her exceptional harvest to the One Acre Fund planting method. This season she is increasing the amount of land she cultivates to 1/4 acre and will also plant beans. Last season, Claudine kept part of her maize harvest for her family and she sold part to buy a goat. With her next harvest, she is dreaming of purchasing a cow. With a cow, I can sell milk and use the money to send my children to university, she said. Rosario packs a bundle of her shirts, tablecloths, belts and bags and travels to the market every weekend. Rosario is now embarking on her third loan cycle as a member of Banrural Grameen Guatemala, a Whole Planet Foundation partner. She accredits these loans to the salvation of her business. In 2005, Rosarios house was destroyed by Hurricane Stan. She lost everythingher stove, pots, pans, mattress, loom and thread were carried away by floods or damaged beyond repair. She took out a loan to buy yarn and diversify her products to grow her business and be able to repair the damage to her home. 55

Project Profile

Team Member Volunteer Project: Buena Vista

Whole Foods Market and Global Vision International (GVI) worked together over a period of three years in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala to install energy efficient stoves in the homes of every student attending the Buena Vista School. Team Members built stoves for students, and then expanded out to build stoves for their relatives and grandparents. Between August and October, 2010, they built 24 stoves, reaching a goal of having an energy-efficient stove in every home in the community. The communitys children will now grow up in a smoke-free environment. The change in the region is meaningful. Deforestation has been drastically reduced, since much less fuel is needed for cooking and heating, and respiratory illness is less prevalent because simple flues direct the smoke outside the home. The introduction of these low tech stoves into the community increases the longevity of the lives of all community residents.

Whole Kids FoundationTM

Whole Kids Foundations mission is to support schools and inspire families to improve childrens nutrition and wellness. Its ultimate goal is an end to the childhood obesity epidemic. Through partnerships with innovative organizations, schools, and educators the foundation works to provide children access to fresh, nutri-

tious meals. Whole Kids Foundation uses their voice to help children and families make healthy food choices for life. In its inaugural year, the foundation is involved in the following projects:
Salad Bars in Schools

Whole Kids Foundation is a member of Lets Move Salad Bars to Schools, which will fund and grant 6000 salad bars to schools by 2013. In 2010, $1.4 million was raised to award 564 salad bar grants through the generosity of Whole Foods Market shoppers. Seeing the overwhelm-

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ing response from customers, Whole Foods Market pledged an additional $1 million to the program. Today, Whole Kids Foundation continues this work by raising awareness and funds and by encouraging schools to experience the difference a salad bar can make in increasing childrens consumption of fruits and vegetables.
School & Community Garden Grants

October 2011, Whole Kids Foundation raised more than $2,268,000 for the School Garden Grant Program. In the fall of 2011, the Whole Kids School Garden Grant program started taking applications for grants intended to support the implementation or expansion of school gardening programs.

Children often develop a deep understanding of the connection between healthy eating and a healthy body when they learn to grow food. School and community gardens offer an opportunity to integrate math, science and health curriculum into a dynamic, interactive setting. Gardens provide a base of knowledge that allows children to take an active role in healthy food choices. As of

Nutrition Education & Inspiration for Teachers

Educators are some of the most important role models for children. Whole Kids Foundation is piloting nutrition and cooking education for teachers with the goal of improving their nutrition, health and wellness. This pilot is taking place in Austin, Texas, with the Austin Independent School District. The Foundation intends to roll out resources more broadly in 2012.

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Looking AheadTogether
Whole Foods Market has been the leader in organic retailing for more than 31 years. Our deep commitment to organics and sustainable agriculture is the foundation for our global citizenship efforts.
Yet were doing so much more, from working upstream through our supply chain to ensure higher product quality and responsible packaging, to volunteering in our communities on projects ranging from feeding the homeless to teaching nutrition in local elementary schools. Were a pioneer in the use of, and experimentation with, alternative energy sources for retail stores. And every new store we open features new and improved green building systems, techniques, and materials. Are we doing everything right? Of course not. As we state in the Whole Foods Market Declaration of Interdependence: Rather let us take up the challenge together to bring our reality closer to our vision. The future we will experience tomorrow is created one step at a time today. Our Team Members are continually striving to create that better tomorrow. While that effort is an ongoing process, this Green Mission Report gives us a chance to showcase what weve achieved and our goals for the future. Were always open to learning about new ways we can help make this a healthier planet. Thank you for taking the time to read about our citizenship efforts and wed love to hear from you. What would you like to know more about? What do you think we might pay attention to next? What inspires you about what were doing? Let us know at greenmissionreport@wholefoods.com.

It is our dissatisfaction with the current reality, when compared with what is possible, that spurs us toward excellence and toward creating a better person, company, and world. When Whole Foods Market fails to measure up to its stated Vision, as it inevitably will at times, we should not despair.

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